We had our first game of
Fireteam Andromeda and it played like a breeze. Even not knowing all the rules by heart we managed to finish our 1000 pts. battle in two and a half hours. The rules are quite easy in terms of shooting and close combat mechanics, but we had to play two turns to fully understand the command points system which we found to be enriching the game experience very much.
Each army had to take and hold three objectives all worth different amounts of victory points. The opponent was not aware which of the possible targets was the priority for the enemy. This way we had a close fight full of suspense for quite some time. It was not clear who would win until the american units collapsed under german fire.
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| The blue objective in the eastern half of the battlefield (A: 6VP / G: 10VP) |
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| The green objetive in the centre of the tabletop (A: 10VP / G: 6VP) | |
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| The red objective in the western half (8 VP for both armies) |
Both armies deployed their units taking advantage of the area's cover. After receiving their orders vehicles and troops advanced into fighting positions trying to seize the three objectives.
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| Germans deploy Panzermech and Grenadier Infantry |
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| Drones and halftrack ready for battle |
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| US Heavy Infantry and some GIs |
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| Bazooka team, M3A1 Scout car and a Sherman |
The Americans managed to take the red objective (VP 8) quite soon in the
first turn and didn't give it away until the end of the fight. The
green objective was being reached simultanously by the German
Schocktroops and some GIs. The poor guys were no match for the well
trained elite warriors of the Reich. But the boys held out long enough
for the Jackal walkers to arrive.
On the western half of the table started a fierce firefight between the german weapon teams and a M3A1 scout car.
In the eastern half the Panzer IV-X and one of the Shermans dueled each other. In the end one Sherman was disabled and the Spinne Panzermech and the Panzer IV took the opportunity to advance into the western area of the table where they challenged the other US tank.
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| US forces claim the red objetive at the oil tanks |
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| German army receives orders for advance |
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| Panzerschreck and MG teams well protected on a wooded hill |
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| German Shocktroops go for the central objective |
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| The red objective beind well guarded by US units |
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| Panzerschreck team starts firing into US units |
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| The Schocktroops seen from the german angle |
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| Jackal walkers cross open terrain to get close to the green objective |
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| Germans take a wound by MG fire |
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| US Infantry try to seize the green objective before the Schocktroops do |
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| Schwerefeld-Projektor in action (Damage 10!!!) |
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| Too much for an Armor Value of 9 - one Sherman disabled! |
The second Sherman had more luck and disabled the Panzer IV and inflicted a wound to the Panzerschreck team as well. Also, the Jackals charged the Schocktroops! A fierce battle between the metal
monstrosities and the power armored troopers began. The Jackals finally won in
close combat but all of them suffered lingering damage during the
fight.
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| Panzer IV fight a second Sherman |
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| Disabled and suffering one hit by the Sherman's reactive fire! |
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| Close combat between walkers and power armored troops |
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| Central battlefield seen from the american side |
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| And from the german point of view |
The Spinne managed to get two lucky shots on the second Sherman and managed to wipe out the tank. This certainly was the turning point of the battle since the Americans were out of real tanks while the german Panzer IV managed to get rid of it's disabled condition. The US Heavy Infantry and the Command Stewart managed to take out the Spider but fell both prey to the german MG drones and Panzer IV shortly after.
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| Damn! Where came that from?? |
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| Last man standing |
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| Revenge! US Heavy Infantry takes out the Spinne Mech |
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| Last man... Arrrrgh! |
This disastrous event left the Americans with a meager 4 command points while the Germans still had plenty of options. The Panzer IV-X took out the Jackals and freed the way for the Grenadiers going for the green objective.
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| What am I supposed to do with that, please??? |
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| US troops strengthen defense of the red objective with a fresh unit |
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| A commander's death |
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| Germans take the blue objective without any resistance |
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| With the last GI and Jackal wiped out the green objective falls to the German |
I played the Americans and even being the loser I enjoyed the game very much. We had a game of Gruntz a month ago and decided both that we find Fireteam Andromeda the better ruleset for our needs. The combat mechanics just feel right and guarantee a smooth and quick battle. After two turns we felt being in the flow.
The command points system was not that easily to get first, but turned out to be the biggest part of the fun. Deciding to spend points on activations or to save them for reactions brings a lot of tactical depth into the game. Also it keeps everybody involved into the action at all times, since there is always something to think about.
Preparation was also no problem since units are easily made even without an app doing the maths. I allready had a good feeling about Fireteam Andromeda after reading the rules. Now I'm sure that it is my ruleset of choice for platoon level games. It has the warhammer feel, lets me build well balanced units worth their points and throws in very clever mechanics in terms of command decisions.
We didn't even try Artillery, Orbital Bombardement, Electronical Warfare or Airstrikes, so there is a lot more to discover and try out. I highly recommend the rules for everybody who wants to stay on the Warhammer side without having to buy those new codices every two weeks. Go to Wargame Vault and grab those rules for 12 bucks. It's all you'll ever need.
